


the perfect match

by orphan_account



Category: Monster High
Genre: F/M, established Cleo/Clawd at first for plot, takes place during the events talked about in the School's Out diaries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 15:53:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5749036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cleo has it all. Her sister has just made her the fearleading captain, she has a new boyfriend, everything is falling into place exactly as it should. Still, there's something missing, and a boy with snakes for hair ends up helping her realize it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the perfect match

**Author's Note:**

> The "School's Out" diaries are some of my favorites and I've always wished we could have seen what was talked about in them (and Cupid's diary) happen in the webisodes, so I decided to write my own idea of how I think the Cleo and Clawd relationship could have gone down and how everyone's favorite it couple (Cleo and Deuce, duh) came to be.
> 
> This is my first time writing for MH and I want this to be good. But I might forget to use some of the puns sometimes, there's just so many. Oh and I like Deuce's diary self more than how Mattel has been portraying him in the movies and webisodes lately, so that's the personality I'm going to try to write for him.

The bow and arrows held tightly in her hands feel heavy as she looks around the busy creepateria. She's determined to make an actual move today, to do this _right_ and hopefully prove to her father she landed on his doorstep for a reason. No more stalling, no more brushing it off and deciding she can try this tomorrow instead. Today is the day Cupid will make her very first perfect match, and she's already decided which two lucky monsters it will be.

Off to one side, she can see Clawd Wolf sitting at a table with his friends, laughing it up over some joke she doesn't understand. Not far off, Cleo de Nile is chattering away to the zombie beside her who is holding both of their lunch trays as they walk towards their usual table.

Cupid has been watching for a while now, and she knows Clawd and Cleo are meant to be together. She's read all of the books, watched all of the movies, done her absolute best to study up on how the perfect high school relationships work and she just _knows_ these two are it. What with Clawd just being voted head of the football team, and Cleo becoming captain of the fear squad- it only seems right for the two of them to be together.

So Cupid rests her tongue between her teeth while she nervously waits for the perfect moment and raises her bow. She almost squeezes her eyes shut tight when the moment comes, only to shake her head firmly. _You can't mess this up,_ she reminds herself.

Just as Cleo is about to walk past Clawd's table, she seizes the moment and lets both of her arrows go.

Much to her delight, both arrows hit their intended targets. She watches as Clawd and Cleo both share a look, as if they're the only two monsters in the room, and Cupid has to stop herself from jumping up and down.

 _I did it,_ she thinks, squeezing her hands together. _I did it!_

_The perfect match._

* * *

There's a certain bounce in Cleo's step as she walks down the halls of Monster High, her stance showing confidence and the expression on her face practically saying _why yes, I_ am _better than you._ She keeps her head held high and her eyes fixed straight ahead, just like her father always tells her to. Power is something she always strives to express and today she can just _feel_ it radiating from her- she's sure the other monsters passing her in the hallway can as well.

Everything is going exactly like she's been hoping it would, especially in the past few weeks. After Nefera handed her the title of fear squad captain, things only seemed to get better and better with each passing day. Not only does she get to do what she does best every day as a natural ruler, it's also helped her popularity skyrocket and the adorable boyfriend she's gained is only the cherry on top of the blood velvet cake.

If only Nefera could see her now.

She smiles to herself, rounding a corner while pulling out her iCoffin to dial a number she remembers by heart now.

"Ghoulia, are the girls ready for practice yet?"

The smile on her face immediately drops at the sound of Ghoulia's low mumbles.

" _What?_ " she snaps, stopping in her tracks. "What do you mean, I canceled practice? I did no such thing!"

She can barely make out the words _"Toralei said"_ and _"you said the two of you were getting along, I assumed it would be safe to believe her"_ in Ghoulia's zombie language over her sudden blinding fury. Of course, Toralei _would._

Okay, so maybe everything isn't going _as_ perfectly as it could be- despite being the chosen captain, it's obvious how jealous Toralei still is of her and at the end of the day, Cleo simply can't blame her. She knows if she were Toralei, she would be jealous too. After all, how could anyone _not_ be jealous of _the_ Cleo de Nile? It's only monster nature. Still, she had wanted to try and let it pass and in an attempt to make it look like she had the squad under her entire control, she'd told Ghoulia Toralei stopped giving her problems already. Which, now she can see, had been a giant mistake.

"Ghoulia," she says slowly, trying to keep her cool, "if the girls aren't at practice, where are they?"

She listens as Ghoulia explains they went out to eat before the big game tonight, courtesy of Toralei, and it's all Cleo can do to not snap her iCoffin in half with her bare hands.

"Thank you Ghoulia. Next time, tell _me_ when the team tries to pull something like this."

It takes everything in her not to throw a proper fit, Cleo doesn't want to look like she can't handle the difficulties that come with being fearleader captain, and so she simply hangs up her phone without a proper goodbye.

She fumes for the next couple of hours, especially since she knows the team could have used the extra practice before the game. Nefera told her before leaving one of the most important parts of being captain was work work _work,_ and Cleo had been doing a good job of making sure her team knew that. At least, that's what she thought. Her unbeating heart almost sinks to the pit of her stomach at the thought of the team messing their routine up tonight, in front of everyone, and she swears to herself if it happens she'll find an amulet to ruin Toralei's life.

Later that evening, Cleo arrives with Ghoulia at the football field and her nerves haven't gotten any better. She's still furious about their scheduled practice being ruined and she doesn't like the fact she hasn't spoken to anyone on the team all day long. But, on the bright side, she's already decided exactly how she plans to punish Toralei along with the others and she can't wait to deal it out in front of everyone.

"Make yourself useful and get me a drink," she tells Ghoulia, scanning the crowd for the rest of the team. "I have to go take care of a certain someone."

The two depart as Ghoulia goes off in search of the concession stand with no words other than a grunt and eye roll. Cleo keeps looking around until she finally spots Toralei, standing around with the rest of the team, and she marches right over to them.

"Ladies," she says, arms crossed as she glowers at them all.

"Oh _look,_ " Toralei practically purrs, sneering at her, "it's the _team captain._ We missed you today."

The look she shares with Meowlody and Purrsephone, whereas the rest of the team only nods in genuine agreement, makes Cleo realize only the three werecats were in on it. She stiffens, curling her hands into fists as she weighs out her options. _Change of plans._ The best she can do is play along and not make herself look like a fool in front of the rest of the team.

"I was busy," Cleo says. "You know, the life of a captain- oh wait, that's right, you _wouldn't_ know."

She laughs proudly at her little joke and only grows more pleased as Toralei forces herself to laugh along.

"Is everyone ready for the big game tonight?"

The rest of them nod eagerly and a unison of _"yeah"_ s and _"can't wait"_ s rise in the air. Cleo nods at their response.

"Good." She looks over them all, then turns to face Toralei again. "Except for you, Toralei. You won't be doing the routine with us tonight." _And neither would your two little friends if we had enough people on the team,_ she adds in her head.

Toralei's eyes widen. " _Huh?_ "

"You heard me, and you know why. You can keep the benches warm for this game." Cleo starts walking forward, looking over her shoulder. "Come on, ghouls, everyone got your uniforms? Time to get ready."

After the entire team has finished getting ready (including Toralei, despite the fact she won't be cheering at all, Cleo smugly takes note of), she stands with the girls by the edge of the fence.

Ghoulia has since come back to join them and she's staring at the field in interest, probably trying to figure out how the game will go down tonight in her own little Ghoulia-ish way. Cleo rolls her eyes and looks away, taking a sip of her drink. She's too busy thinking about the one person she hasn't seen tonight.

"Ugh," she finally says, scanning the field, " _where_ is my boyfriend?"

And just like that, a pair of hands cover her eyes and Cleo jumps out of instinct.

"Guess who?" a familiar voice asks.

She squeals, moving away so she can turn to narrow her eyes at him.

"Clawd!" She stomps her foot. "You almost made me spill my drink!"

Clawd only shrugs, moving forward to put an arm around her. "Well _excuse me_ for wanting to see my good luck charm before the game."

"Your good luck charm?" Cleo repeats, heart fluttering in her chest. She and Clawd might have only been dating for a few weeks now, but he always has the sweetest things to say when the time calls for it.

"That's right," he nods and looks like he's about to say something else when one of his football buddies runs up to them. The smack on the shoulder he gives not only jostles him but Cleo too, and she wrinkles her noise and backs away.

"Ready to tear those other monsters up, bro?"

"Oh man," Clawd grins, "you know it!"

Cleo scoffs and turns back towards the other girls, leaning on the fence and resting her chin on her hand. And just like that, she's over the sweet comment.

It feels like an eternity until Clawd is finally done messing around with his friend. Once he turns back to Cleo, he seems to take notice of her annoyance.

"Gotta go now," he says, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "wish me luck!"

And just like that, _again,_ Cleo practically melts. She smiles and waves at him as he runs off, her heart fluttering again. She's felt the silly feeling on and off ever since she first truly noticed Clawd in the creepateria and it's only grown stronger since they started dating. He might get on her nerves at times, but the giddy feeling that envelops her when he's around makes all of it worth it.

The more she thinks about it, the more she wishes they could have practiced earlier. Cleo loves to impress, especially in front of a huge crowd and now her new boyfriend, and she wants their routine to go down perfectly.

"Change of plans," she decides again, spur of the moment, "we're going to practice as much as we can before the game starts."

She ignores their shocked cries and insists they don't have enough time or any space to practice. Snapping her fingers, Cleo starts to walk off, signaling for all of them to follow her.

"We'll find somewhere, and we'll make do. We absolutely _must_ do our best at this game!"

And so about an hour later, an hour Cleo has used to shove in as much practice for their main routine as she possibly can, she leads the girls back out towards the field. She ignores how tired everyone looks-it's not like she worked them _that_ hard in just one little hour-and waits impatiently.

"I want you _all_ to do your _best_ tonight. No slacking, or you'll end up like Toralei."

Cleo points with one finger over to where Toralei is slumped on the bench, looking miserable with a scowl on her face. The rest of the team nods obediently and she continues to give them a lecture that could rival even Nefera's bossing until it's time for them to actually go out on the field.

As she's preparing for the moment and giving herself a silent pep talk, Cleo's nerves begin to vanish and her natural confidence starts to show through. Her nerves always reach their worst point right before how sure she really feels of herself starts to kick in. This is her moment, this is what she was born to do- _give the people what they want._ And that's exactly what she plans to do tonight.

She gets into her position and thinks of Clawd while she does. If she's his good luck charm, he'll be hers as well.

Their routine goes perfectly at first- all of the girls are doing exactly what they're supposed to do, even though this new routine is a bit more difficult than what they started off with a few weeks prior, and the sound of the crowd cheering along with them makes Cleo's head spin, in the good way. She revels in the looks people are giving her, takes pride in how effortlessly all of it feels, becomes so distracted by the amazing way fearleading makes her feel that she doesn't notice how the other girls are starting to lose their initial motivation and spark.

It happens when the girls get ready to finish off the routine with their big move, a fear pyramid. Cleo stands at the top, of course, exactly where she belongs, and the prideful feeling in her only grows as the crowd cheers. Until she begins to feel herself wobble. She looks down just in time to see Meowlody is beginning to lose her grip, and like a domino effect, the other girls are too, and before she can even think to do something to fix it Cleo finds herself falling and hitting the hard ground as the rest of the team topples down with her.

The sudden hushed silence from the crowd hurts Cleo more than any fall ever could.

She barely recognizes Ghoulia rushing over to them as fast as a zombie possibly can rush. Her mind is swirling and her body feels numb. The rest of the team is already starting to try and laugh it off, but all Cleo can do is hold her breath as she wishes she could just disappear completely.

Clawd runs over too, of course, along with a few of the other players and some of their teachers. Cleo wants nothing more for them to go away. Their dramatic reactions and insistence on checking the girls to see if they're alright only embarrasses her further.

"Are you okay?" she makes out Clawd asking her, and does her best to nod.

"I'm fine," Cleo finally speaks up among the flurry of people. "I'm fine-" She turns to the rest of the team and instead of her typical scolding and yelling, she simply says, "We'll have to do better next time."

Once everyone has calmed down, the teachers finally leaving them alone, the football team going back to their spots on the field so the game can resume while the fearleading squad scatters apart, Cleo sits beside Ghoulia off in their own spot on the bleachers, trying her hardest to pay attention to the game now.

It's much easier said than done. Even though everyone else has already started treating it like a joke instead of a big deal, the moment of the girls falling replays in Cleo's head like an awful nightmare on constant loop. She can't even look at Clawd while he tackles a monster from the other team, can't appreciate the silly jokes Ghoulia keeps trying to make during the game to try and help her feel better.

"I'm going home," she eventually decides, standing from the bleachers. "If Clawd asks where I went, tell him I was _very_ tired and I'll call him tomorrow."

Ghoulia shares a look with her, a look which means she knows it's more than just that, but she doesn't push it. She only nods and that's why Ghoulia is her absolute best ghoulfriend.

Leaving without another word, Cleo walks around aimlessly for a bit. She already knows she won't really be going home just yet. She's too upset to have to deal with her father asking how the game went (as if he actually cares) and then wanting to know how she and the rest of the team did (he doesn't care about that either, he only wants her to _win,_ and tonight she's failed him on that).

Of course, she doesn't want anyone to see her moping around by herself either. That's the last impression a queen should be giving her followers, and since Cleo already considers herself a queen in her own right (queen of their _high school,_ at least, for now) she seeks out a small, quiet area that looks to be empty. A lake of some sorts, with a giant tree arching over it. She wouldn't normally be caught alive hanging out in a spot like this, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

She sits down in the least dirtiest looking spot on the ground, careful not to get too close to the water for the sake of her bandages. Bringing her knees up to her chest, that's when Cleo finally allows herself to cry.

She only had to do one thing right, teach her team well and put on a good routine, and she's already messed that up. What would Nefera think of her now? Her sister's shrill laugh is so clear in her ears, Cleo almost wonders if Nefera is actually standing behind her, ready to insult her and taunt her and remind her of how she's always going to be _second best,_ not first, and when a hand touches her shoulder she shrieks, jumping back, half expecting to see Nefera when she turns around.

But it's not Nefera. It's a boy, and Cleo glares at him through her tears.

"You okay?" he asks, clearly not getting the point of her glare.

"Go away!" Cleo hopes he doesn't notice her voice cracking. "How dare you follow me out here to this..." She pauses, looking around at the small area, "This _place!_ "

"Hey, I didn't follow you." He looks offended, the snakes on his head-yes, _snakes,_ she realizes, but she's seen much stranger things in her life-hissing at her. "I was here first."

"Nonsense."

The boy uses one hand to motion towards the ground where he's set a skateboard down, using his other hand to idly pet at the snakes on his head to calm them down, Cleo assumes. "I've been out here for _hours._ I was trying a new trick, lost my board-" he looks sheepish suddenly, "and I left to go find it. Came back, and you were here. So unless you're one of those ghouls who can turn invisible..."

Cleo rolls her eyes and goes back to staring at the water. She's too emotionally exhausted to argue any further. At least she's stopped crying now, and he hasn't brought up the fact she _was_ crying either.

He's not going to leave, she realizes when he takes a spot on the ground next to her. Determined to make a point, though she's not sure what exactly that point may be, Cleo stays silent, eyes trained on the water.

They sit in silence for a little while after that, until a small splash meets her ears. She looks to find the boy doing something with... with _rocks?_

"What are you doing?" Cleo demands, wanting to come off as annoyed more than interested.

"Skipping rocks," he says, as if this should be obvious. "Nothing else to do, if we're not going to make conversation."

"Is this... this _rock skipping_ a typical activity for snake boys like yourself?"

He looks at her and laughs, as if she's just told a funny joke. Cleo only raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're serious?" Now it's his turn to look confused. "You've never, uh, skipped rocks?"

Cleo turns up her nose indignantly. She hates feeling left out of things, and living the royal but sheltered life she has with her father and Nefera means it happens more often than she would like.

"I have better things to do with my time than play around with rocks."

"Well, you don't have to look so offended- unless you're related to a gargoyle?"

He laughs a little at that, again, while Cleo stares at him blankly.

"Okay... um.. _here._ I'll show you." He grabs a rock and places it into her hand. Then he takes her hand and guides it forward, and Cleo allows him to only because her curiosity has gotten the better of her. She watches, only growing more confused as he moves her fingers on the rock. "You have to hold it a certain way," he explains upon seeing her expression. He pulls her hand back and then moves it forward again just as quick, but nothing happens.

"You have to let go," he tells her.

"I know that."

They try it again and this time the rock actually does land in the water.

"Oh, it didn't go as far as yours," Cleo notes with slight disappointment.

"It'll work better if you do it on your own." He hands her another rock. "Try it."

She tries to do exactly what he'd just done, but the rock only lands in the water and sinks.

"That one wasn't flat enough," he lies for her sake, she can tell, and Cleo reluctantly begins to smile, "here, try with this one."

It takes a couple more tries, but Cleo eventually starts to get better. Once she's gotten the hang of it, she and the boy try to see who can skip their rocks the farthest, Cleo coming out the winner.

"Ha, _take that!_ "

"Nice," he nods in approval, "who taught you how to skip rocks so well?"

Cleo giggles and nudges him- and that's when she realizes she's having far too much fun to be skipping rocks with some boy with snakes for hair.

Their talking dies down again, until the boy says something she's been wanting to avoid.

"So, why are you out here?"

Cleo shifts uncomfortably. She doesn't like letting even Ghoulia of all ghouls see when she's hurt over something, much less this strange boy sitting next to her. She'd almost forgotten about the fearleading squad's awful mistake anyway, skipping rocks was apparently a nice distraction, but now she supposes there's no more ignoring it.

"I have my reasons," she attempts to stall.

"And I'm asking what they are. Unless you don't want to tell me."

"I'd like to know your name first," Cleo decides. There's no way this boy is a _total_ stranger, she knows he must be from Monster High at least, and she wonders if maybe he even has a few classes with her. The thing is, the school is so big and full of so many monsters, it's hard to know exactly who everyone is unless they're part of your social circle. And try as she might, she hasn't been able to place an exact name to this boy's face.

"It's Deuce," the boy- _Deuce_ -says. The name is slightly familiar to her, and now she's sure he does at least have some classes with her. "Deuce Gorgon. What's yours?"

Cleo stares at him in disbelief. Sure, it's hard to know who everyone at Monster High is... but surely he recognizes _her!_ How could anyone not know who a de Nile is? Whether you're in her social circle or not, you simply _know._

"I'm sure there's no need for you to really ask that," she scoffs, deciding not to believe him.

He only stares at her blankly and Cleo is downright appalled, but still refuses to give in and tell him her name.

"Do you live under a rock, _Deuce?_ "

"Not exactly. Do I get to know why you're out here now?"

Cleo huffs. This snake boy named Deuce can be persistent, she realizes.

"I'm guessing you didn't go to the game tonight?"

"The football game? No. Not really my style. I like casketball more."

"Well," Cleo sighs, she doesn't know why she's going to tell this boy what happened but she's at least going to try and think of the least embarrassing way to explain it, and that meant taking any blame off herself. "My fear team messed up big time on the field- it wasn't my fault, _of course_ , but the rest of the girls lost their control and ended up causing all of us to fall in the middle of the routine. It was a _disaster._ "

"Sounds rough," Deuce says. She can tell he obviously can't relate to the issue, but his voice sounds genuine and she appreciates that at least. "So you left the game?"

"Yes." She nods, staring at her bandaged legs instead of him. "I wanted to be left alone after that."

"Do you still want to be left alone, then? I can leave-"

"No," Cleo finds herself quickly saying and she feels just as surprised as Deuce looks. "No," she repeats, calmer this time, "I suppose I'll gift you with the honor of staying in my presence for a bit longer."

He smiles, and surprisingly enough again, Cleo does too.

"Does being out here make you feel better?" he asks.

"I don't usually come out to places like this often," she admits with a shrug. "Hmm. You know what would truly make me feel better right now?"

"What?"

"A strawberry and scream frappuccino from the Coffin Bean." Cleo sighs longingly just at the thought. "It's my favorite."

They fall into casual conversation after that-mostly about what Coffin Bean flavors they both think are better-until Cleo notices how late it's getting and decides it's time for her to go home. She doesn't want to, she realizes, she'd much rather stay out her for a bit longer and avoid remembering everything that's happened tonight, but she also doesn't want to put up with any lectures from her father about staying out too late.

"I need to go now," she tells him, standing, and he follows her lead.

"Me too, my mom will _freak_ if I get home too late."

"I know the feeling," Cleo admits. _All too well,_ she adds in her head. "Will I see you around?"

She almost wants to curse herself for asking the question. A de Nile isn't supposed to be the one who asks for things like that, it should be the other way around. She's already screwed up so much tonight. But she doesn't want to risk the chance of him not asking for her. She's had fun talking to him tonight, almost in the way she has fun when she talks to one of her only real friends, Ghoulia, and she's decided she wants to talk to him more after this.

"Tell you what," Deuce fishes around his pockets, pulling out a pen, "I'll give you my-"

"What are you doing?" she immediately shrieks when he moves to place the pen on her hand.

"Giving you my number? So we can maybe see each other around?"

"You will _not_ write on my precious skin!" Cleo shakes her head firmly. "Let _me_ give you _mine._ "

She takes the pen and writes her number onto his hand, giving the pen back to him once she's done.

"There. Goodbye now, Deuce."

"Bye, Cleo, nice talking to you."

Cleo turns to leave- until she realize what he's just said and she turns back around, eyebrows raised.

"I thought you said you didn't know who I..."

Her voice trails off as he only smiles at her. She narrows her eyes at him.

She _knew_ there was no way he didn't recognize a de Nile!

 _Well played,_ she thinks to herself. But out loud she gives him a little _"hmph"_ and turns to actually leave this time.

As she's walking back home and is almost close to reaching her doorstep, she hears her iCoffin go off. Pulling the phone out, she checks to see who the message is from, expecting it to be Deuce.

Instead, Clawd's name flashes across her screen, and she feels slight disappointment at that.

Cleo immediately shakes her head, pushing the feeling away. What's _wrong_ with her tonight? She's happy, she decides, that Clawd has texted her. Never mind the fact she told Ghoulia to tell him she would call him tomorrow and she knows her friend wouldn't neglect to tell him that. No, it's a _good thing,_ and she keeps repeating this to herself as she walks inside.

Still...

She'll answer him, along with the rest of her problems and responsibilities, tomorrow.


End file.
